Monday, December 19, 2016

Realm Explorers Part XCV: Visit Slavina with Cassie M. Shiels

Welcome to Realm Explorers! In this weekly series, we visit a variety of unique worlds created by talented science fiction and fantasy authors. Enjoy your travels! And don't forget to read to the bottom of the post to find out more about each author and see how to purchase the featured book.

Author’s name: Cassie
M. Shiels

Title of book and/or
series: Lady A (A Princess Tale book 2)

Brief summary of the
story:

Lady A is in
terrible danger, an annoying side effect of her brother's latest scheme. Forced
to run for her life from a madman, she must return to the one place she vowed
never to go again, or die. After a failed attempt on her life leaves her without
a name and her memories, Lady A must fight to regain them in order to help the
handsome prince defeat the madman, who is threatening their kingdom. But will
she remember in time? Or will she lose everyone and everything she loves?

Brief description of
the world or location you created for this story:

Lady A takes place in the country
of Slavina and three of its closest towns. Veyon where Lady A and her brother
Dan live. Avern where the old wheel Inn is located. Avern is also between Veyon
and Saris. Saris is the capital city of Slavina where the castle and most of
the story takes place. There is a little bit of magic in this country but not
as much as some surrounding countries. They mostly have healing magic with
select holders.

If we were to visit Slavina
as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?

Go see the
castle in Saris. It is huge and beautiful. The gardens at the castle are a
must, especially the maze gardens. The rose gardens are a close second. If you
need a place to stay there is no place better than the Old Wheel Inn in Avern.

What dangers should
we avoid in Slavina?

Slavina has a river that falls into
a ravine right next to Avern, between Avern and Veyon. It would be best to
avoid this river and only cross at the one bridge in the town of Avern. It
starts out as a normal river near Veyon but as it arrives at Avern it falls into
a deadly ravine.

Is there a distinct
or unusual type of food or meal that we might be served in Slavina?

They eat the usual mutton and
bread. The drink of choice for most is ale. The castle cook is especially good
at making white cakes for the royal family. They live in an area where berries
grow well. Strawberries do especially well.

What types of
weaponry or fighting styles are common in Slavina?

The knights of the realm prefer
swords to any other weapon. Crossbows are also used fairly often. Boot daggers
are the norm for the prince and his best friends.

What types of
vehicles, animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to Slavina?

Travel in Slavina is limited to
walking, riding a horse, or a carriage. The lower class people use wagons. The
technology is also limited. No electricity. They use fires, candles, and
torches for light. Animals are the normal forest animals.

What role, if any,
does magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in Slavina?If there is magic, please give some examples
of what it involves or how it’s used.

Magic is
only being discovered in Salvina. Other nearby countries have more of it, but
so far those in Salvina are only aware of healing magic. Those who hold it are
healers. They are still discovering their magic. They can heal small wounds
easily. Things like breaks are harder, though they can speed the healing
process. Memory loss is beyond them at present.

Tell us about any
sports, games, or activities that are available for entertainment in Slavina?

Tournaments held by the knights.
Balls held by the royal family and the nobles who attend court. Court is the
biggest weekly event, where all those of nobility gather.

What is the political
or government structure in Slavina?Who
is in charge there at the moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?

King William is the leader of
Slavina. He is a good king. He has full control of his country but he does have
a group of lords who help run their various sections of the country. They are
however still under the control of the king. William cares a great deal for his
people and trys to protect them and keep the peace as much as possible.

Has anything in your actual
life inspired the locations, cultures, etc. in your book?

A little bit of medieval history
has been a small influence. As well as a few movies like Ever After, and
Cinderella. I spent a long time on pintrest looking at castles and medieval
dresses for ideas and images to keep in mind while I wrote the story. I also
took the idea of the memory loss from my own stories that I told myself when I
was a little girl.

What, if any, “hot-button”
or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?

I think I
avoided most of those. I do get into the history of Slavina where the true
ruler of the country is questioned.

Author Autobiography:

Cassie M. Shiels has loved stories since she was little. Her
love of writing started even before she could write words. She was one to be
found, reading late into the night (wait, she still does that!), on the school
bus or before she did her homework. In middle school she determined that she
liked creating her own stories as much as she liked reading them; so she
decided she wanted to be an author and keeps working on making that dream come
true with every story idea that bounds into her head.

Where, and in what
formats, can we purchase your book(s)?Please include links.

Lady A is available in both paperback and ebook on Amazon.
I hope to expand into other areas like nook soon.

I hope you all enjoyed the trip to Slavina. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you! Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.Please join us again next Monday for a trip to another world in next week's edition of Realm Explorers!